John Kavanagh and Conor McGregor - A special relationship between coach and fighter

John Kavanagh with Conor McGregor at the party (Image: Conor McGregor/Instagram)

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UFC Trainer John Kavanagh celebrated his 40th birthday party in Dublin on Saturday night in the company of his most famous student Conor McGregor.

The pair have been together for over 12 years and their parties have got bigger and bigger in the process.

Kavanagh first came across McGregor, when the 16 year old from Crumlin walked into his gym.

On their first encounter, Kavanagh has said, 'He came from Crumlin Boxing Club, which is a good boxing club and he was already good at boxing.'

'He was the same personality he is now. He's loud - people call it arrogant - he's confident, brash. He's funny; very witty. He is incredibly sharp-minded.'

'All those qualities were there when he was young.'

This was a surprise birthday party though and while his association with McGregor has brought recognition and fame for the trainer, he often seems happy to be in the background to the glitz and glamour that is now a constant part of McGregor's world.

'The showbiz side of it was an accident,' he said. 'I'm still not that comfortable with that, if I'm being honest.'

Trainer and fighter have a lot to be thankful to each other for. Kavanagh has tutored McGregor from being a lowly fighter with distant dreams of making it big in the relatively obscure sport of UFC to being one of the world's biggest sportstars.

McGregor's charisma and marketability has put the spotlight on all aspects of his life, none more so than his trainer. Kavanagh is now lauded as one of the top trainers in the game and has been invited to speak at conferences and appear on television to talk about his coaching methods.

Although, the road for the two of them has not been without its hiccups. McGregor's loss to Nate Diaz, prompted both to reexamine their training routines.

Nate Diaz punches Conor McGregor (Image: Getty)

Kavanagh said, 'There were some times in the gym when I was walking in and he was walking out and I was kind of just nodding at him.'

From the earlier days, where they spent three or four sessions every day together, it seemed as if they were living different lives.

In response, Kavanagh said, 'We went back to scheduled sessions, a set routine and look what happened after a short length of time.'

The result was the defeat of Nate Diaz in their rematch and the defeat of Eddie Alvarez to become a simultaneous two-division champion.

At the moment, the McGregor and Kavanagh party shows no signs of stopping.